Sewing apparatus



Aug, 7,1945. P. GARDNER Erm.

SEWING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W um. 1 L@ Q MMANM ma IW Wu .K

Aug. 7, 1945. P. GARDNER x-:TAL n 2,381,817

SEWING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W Z y VZ?. 5

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ze? I Patented Aug. 7, 1945 2,381,817 SEWING APPARATUS Percy Gardner,Glen Ridge, N. I.. and Balph Kagan, Brooklyn, N. Y.. auignors to LeverBias Machine Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication September 13, 1941, Serial No. 410,682

(Cl. Ilz-235) 7 Claims.

This invention relates to new and4v useful improvements in sewingapparatus and has particular reference to apparatus for sewing sheetmaterial into tubular form preparatory to its being cut into bias sheetsand then later cut into strips of bias-cut material for use in manytrades and fashions. l

Although it was in connection with the preparation of bias-,cut materialthat this invention was developed, it is to be clearly understood, andit will become clearly apparent from a study of the matter to follow,that the use of thisinvention is notlimited to such a line ofmanufacture but can be l employed in almost any instance where materialis to be fed past a sewing point and fastened there together.

The main object of the invention is to produce a simple, efficient andcompact apparatus in and by which material can be sewedl or fastenedtogether at much greater speed, more securely, and with a minimum ofeifort on the part of the operator. e

A further object is to provide a sewingA apparatus in which the usuallower feed or clamping dog is entirely eliminated thus presenting amachine which will operate as emciently with much less complicatedstructure and number of parts, thereby reducing the cost of building.

Further and more specific objects, features, and advantages will moreclearly appear from a consideration of the specification to follow,especiallywhen taken in connection with the annexed drawings which formpart of the specitlcation and which illustrate a present preferred formwhich the invention may assume.

'I'he invention briefly and generally stated,

with respect to one aspect thereof, has to do with a presser foot whichis provided with means which, at all times during the operation of themachine on the material, will alone contact the goods with varyingpressure to maintain it in position to be sewed or fastened together.

A further feature of the invention has to do with the combination of theimproved presser i'oot and a pull-away mechanism which exerts on thegoods, during the operation of moving it past the fastening or sewingpoint, a steady pull to tend to move it at a constant speed through themachine and which constitutes the only means i'or pulling the materialthrough the machine A further feature of the combination with the i newpresser foot andthe pull away mechanism is a tensioning or compensatingdevice disposed l stantly moved up and between the fastening or sewingpoint and the pull away mechanism so as to permit the pull awaymechanism to continue its action while, at the instant of fastening orstitching of the materiel. the material is being firmly gripped and hc.dby the presser foot, thereby preventing tearing of the goods whileallowing continuous operation of all the active elements of the machine.

More particularly the novel form of presser foot concerns an ordinarypresser foot to the bottom of which is attached a plate or plates which,by some form of resilient means, is pressed constantly down against thegoods beneath with a varying degree of pressure dependent upon theposition of the presser foot which is vbeing condown by suitable meansto be later described.

The apparatus as a combination may then be considered as comprising apull-away mechanism, a tensioning or compensating device, a presser footwith vresiliently operated pressure plates, and a base plate over whichthe material moves and against which itis at all times pressed by thefoot. The general operation may well be brietly described as follows:

Assuming that the needle is up and the presser foot is'also up at thetop of its operative stroke, the pull-away mechanism is pulling thematerial through the device but the pressure plates are pressing againstthe goods, but not with enough pressure to stop the pull-away mechanismfrom causingl a movement of goods past the sewing point. Thecompensating. device is pressing against the -goods to keep a part of"it off the straight line from the sewing pointto the pullaway mechanismso as to hold a certain length of it in reserve for purposes which willbecome clear as the detailed description is later set forth. Now as theneedle descends, .the presser foot also is timed to descend and thuspresses the pressure plates much more firmly against the goods so that,as the needle passes through the material, the pressure on the goods issuillcient to hold it momentarily so that the stitch can be made and theneedle withdrawn without tearing the goods.

Aline of the material to change allowing enough oi the tensioned goodsto pass while the rest of the goods is being temporarily held at thesewing point. As soon asv the needle withdraws from the goods, then thepresser foot rises somewhat and the pressure of the pressure plates issomewhat relieved so that the pull of the pull away device is againeffective to allow tlze goods to pass through the sewing point again,although the pressure plates never, during the operation on the goods,entirely lose pressure contact with the gooc s, degree of pressurevaries periodically during the operation.

In the impro'ved form of the machine, below the base plate over whichthe material passes, there is only the usual shuttle holding the lowerthread to cooperate with that held by the needle. There is no lowerclamping of feed dog. This novel construction thus reduces the lcomplexity of the mechanism and materially reduces the number of theparts required for effective oper-ation.

A present preferred form which the invention may assume is illustratedin the drawings, of which- Fig. 1 is a somewhat schematic side elevationof a portion of the apparatus showing the longitudinal relation of thepull-away mechanism, the compensating device, and the new form ofpresser foot together with several guide devices which are employed toguide the material effectively to the sewing or fastening point;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portionof the new and improved presserfoot showing the needle in the uppermost position;

Fig, 3 is a similar view in end elevation of the presser foot;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross section taken on the `line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is an inverted plan view of the pressure plate shown in Fig. 6;

Fig, 8 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5,showing the parts in the position of minimum pressure;

- Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the parts in the position of maximumpressure;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a portion of a modified form of presserfoot with a single pressure plate attached;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a cross section through a still further modified form rofpresser foot.

The form of the invention shown in the drawings is one which has beendeveloped through trial and tests as the present form preferred toachieve the results intended. Figure 1 somewhat .diagrammatically shows.the .general layout of the various elements of the improved machine andis somewhat similar to a lay-out shown in our copending applicationSerial Number 384,224, entitled Apparatus for forming tubular material,filed March 19, 1941. The vfigure shows the material A being unwoundfrom a roll (not shown) in flat sheet form over guiding rollers 20 on asuitable support 2| and then through guide members 22 and 23 over thebed 24 of a sewing device, which, however, maybe a fastening deviceother than a sewing machine. The sewed or fastened material now intubular form passes from the bed 24 to a pull away device indicatedgenerally by the although, as above described, the.

' tened together and the form shown is the form preferred, namely, asewing device, although it y is to be understood that the action laterdescribed number 25 which is generally and basicallysimilar to the oneshown in the above-mentioned application. 'I'he pull'away device 25 isdesigned to exert on the material a steady even pull and constitutes theonly means in the entire apparatus is such that other means of fasteningthe material than sewing maybe employed. The sewing device comprises asewing head 28, provided with a vertically reciprocable presser foot rod29 on which is a stud 30 engaged by the end of an arm 3i, said arm 3|being adapted in any suitable manner (not shown) to be oscillated by asuitable means during theA operation of the machine so as to raise andlower the rod 29. A spring 32 connected to the rod 23 tends to move itdownwardly at all times. The head also supports the usual reciprocableneedle 33 driven in the usual manner to move to and from the material.

On the lower end of the rod 29 lis a presser foot having a main bodyportion 34. Since this' main body portion 34 is fastened to the lowerend of the rod 29 it rapidly rises and falls with said rod vandtherefore its distance from the goods varies during the operation ofsewing the material. Disposed below this main body portion 34 is apressure means which, regardless ofthe position of the portion 34, willalways maintain at least a certain minimum contact pressure with thematerial. This variable contact pressure is greatest at the time theneedle is passing through the goods and least when the needle is at thehighest point of its stroke. although it is always sufficient tomaintain control of the material and prevent it from moving under thefoot unless pulled by the pull-away device. In other words,` thematerial under the foot is at all times under the control of the foot.When the sewing is actually taking place, the foot holds the goods sofirmly that the pull-away device itself could not move it but when thesewing is not actually taking place then the presser foot device stillholds the goods but with lesser pressure so that the pull-away devicecan pull the goods past the sewing point.

The `preferred form of the means above mentioned which has been adoptedis an auxiliary plate -35 which is disposed directly beneath the mainbody portion 34 and lies on the goods. This auxiliary plate may also beof one or two pieces as shown in Figures l1 and 6 respectively. Thecontact means is preferably not directly connected to the main bodyportion 34Abut is provided with pins 36 which extend up through holes 3lin the portion 34. Springs 38 surround the pins 36 between the portion34 and plate 35 and tend to push the lower plate away from the main bodyportion 34 at alltimes. In the modified form ofthe plates shown in Fig.12, the push away force is provided by weights 39 on the tops of thepins 36 instead of the springs 38. The two forms of plates employed aremerely indicative of the fact that the kind of'plates used is dependentupon the kind of sewing or fastening which is being done as well as thekind of stitch and also on the kind of material being treated.

.A general description of the operation will turn i the attentionparticularly to Figures 2 and 4, the

the needle is at the top of its stroke, and the other of which shows theparts in position when the needle'is at the bottom of the stroke. Whenthe needle is as shown in Fig. 2, the main body portion 34 is moved upagainst the action oi.' the spring 32 by means of the cam-operated armIl and is at its highest point or distance away from the lower plate' ilwhich is stili being pressed against the goods by means of the springs8l. It willbe clear that in this position the springs Il are not undermuch compression and therefore are pressing the plate ll as lightly aspossible upon the goods but sumciently to maintain control on the goods.At this point, then, in the operation, the pull-away device 2l is ableto advance the kgoods past the sewing or fastening Point.

As the needle 4starts down on its travel to the goods the main bodyportion u also starts down and therefore slowly increases thecompression of thesprings 3l and approaches the plate 35. The

portion v3l is allowed to do this by the lowering of arm 3| andthedownward pressure of the spring I2. As the needle startsthroughthe'goods the portion 84 'is all the way down and pressing fiaton top of the lower plate 3l and the spring l2 is exerting its fullpressure to hold the two 'plates together. This pressure is suillcientupon the goods to overcome the pulling tendency of the j pull-away means2i and the goods consequently f .stands still for an instant. If thiswere not al- .lowed for, the goods between the sewing point 1 and thepull-away device would be subjected to an abnormalstrain. but this iswhere the compensating device comes into play.' As the goods at thesewing point stops moving for van instant, the pull on the -materialcauses the compensating device 20 to start being pulled down so'that theoff-side relation of the goods along the sewing line vis changed towarda directline relation and the compensating device thus gives thepull-away device a little of the material which it has thus far beenholding Aoff-side. This allows the goods =between the vsewingpoint andthe pull-away to move while at the same` time vthe goods right at the`sewing point are beelng held for an instant stationary. Therefore undueand abnormal strains on the goods lare avoided. As soon as the needle'startsupagain the rod 2l also starts up` slowly" releasing thecompression on the springs i Il so that,r as the needle comes out of thegoods,

the compressionl has -been reduced a suillcient j amount 'so-'that thecontactpressure of the plate Aall von thejgoc'da-while holding the goodsunder r.:;{cnntrol,will 'permit the pull-away device -to advance themforward a lpredetermined distance.v

This. 'ycleof 'operations :is ofcourse repeated at high speed and thegoods 'hasv been delivered to 'the sewingpoint' smoothly and underperfect con.. trol andeven vtension and has been drawn away lVi'ro'msaid pointy' under equally smooth and even' tension.v

It may be notedv thai'nounng `has been sala thus :far ofa feeddogbelowthe-bed '24 for the vsimple reason that in this machine thereisno -such device. 'The only element, below the bed 24 is thevusualshuttle containing the usual lower thread to cooperate with the onecarried in the usual manner by the' needle. As far as we know, -this'isthe rst device" in which'material can be fastened .or sewed together athigh speed andv under perfect :controlg as demonstrated many times inactual practice, without the use of a lower dog'wliichnot only doesnot'feed the material but also does noteven momentarily clampsewingpoint for minutes at a time. While the invention has been described indetail herein asto a preferred form, it is to be clearly understood thatmany changes and moditlcations may be made in the construction withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth, and itis not intended therefore to limit the invention to the particular formshown but only in so far as it may be limited by the scope of any one ormore of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. lIn a sewing machine having a sewing point and a reciprocatory needleat the sewing point and without a lower feed dog, the combination ofmeans spaced apart from the sewing point and providing a continuous pullon the material tend 40 material.

2. In a sewing machine havinga sewing point f' and a reciprocatoryneedlev at the sewing point and without a lower feed dog, thecombination of means spaced apart from the sewing point and providing acontinuous pull on the material tending to pull it past the sewingpoint, means to reciprocate saidv needle in synchronism with the speedof the pulling'means, a presser foot adjacent the needle and having amain body portion, means to reciprocate the main body portion toward andaway from the material being sewn in cyclical relation to the movementof the needle. aV plate disposed below and supported from the main bodyportion of the presser foot and engaging the material at all times, andmeans for causing the plate tov press upon the material with a pressurevarying in accordance with the position of the main body portion withrespect to the material.

v means spaced apart from the sewing point and providing a continuouspull on thematerlaltenli-vv v ing to pull it past the sewing point,means to re'- ciprocate said needle in synchronism with thev speed ofthe pulling means, a presser foot adiacent the needle and having a mainbody'portion, means to reciprocate the' main body portion toward andaway from the 4material being sewn in cyclical relation to the movementof theneedie, a plate disposed below and supported from the main bodyportion of the presser foot and engaging the lmaterial at all times, andresilient means disposed in association with the main body portion andthe lower plate and tending always to move the plate away from the mainbody portion and to press it against the material, said speed of thepulling means,`a presser foot adjacent the needle and having a main bodyportion, means to reciprocate the main body portion toward and away fromthe material being sewn in cyclical relation to the movement of theneedle, means on the presser foot and engaging the material at all timeswith a varying pressure depending upon the position of the main bodyportion of the presser foot with respect to the material, and resilientmeans between the sewing point and the pulling means and engaging thesewn seam to divert the seam at the engaged point from the direct linefromy the sewing point to the pulling means.

5. In a sewing machine having a sewing point and a reciprocatory needleat the sewing point and without a lower feed dog, the combination ofmeans spaced apart from the sewing point and providing a continuous pullon the material tending to pull it past the sewing point, means toreciprocate said needle in synchronism with the speed of the pullingmeans, a presser foot adjacent the needle and having a main bodyportion, means to reciprocate the main body portion toward and away fromthe material being sewn in cyclical relation to the movement of theneedle, a plate disposed below and supported from the main body portionof the presser foot and engaging the material at all times, and meansfor causing the plate to press upon the 'material with a varyingpressure in accordance with the position of the main body portion withrespect to the material, and resilient means between the sewing pointand the pulling means and engaging the sewn seam to divert the seam atthe engaged point from the direct line from the sewing point.

to the pulling means.

6. In a sewing machine having a sewing point and reclprocatory needle atthe. sewing point and without a lower feed dog, thev combination ofmeans spaced apart from the sewing point and providing a continuous pullon the material' tending to pull it past the sewing point, means toreciprocate said needle in synchronism with the speed of the pullingmeans, a presser foot adjacent the needle and having a main bodyportion, means to reciprocate the main body portion toward and away fromthe material being sewn in cyclical relation to the movement of theneedle, a plate disposed 4below and supported from the main `bodyportion of the presser foot and engaging the material at all times, andresilient means disposed in association with the main body portion andthe lower plaie and tending always to move the plate away from the mainbody portion and to press it against the material, said pressure varyingin accordance with the position of the main body portion with respect tothe material, and resilient means between the sewing point and thepulling means and engaging the seam to divert the seam at the engagedpoint from the di- Vrect line from the sewing point to the pullingmeans.

'1. In a sewing machine having a sewing point and a reciprocatory needleat the sewing point and without a lower feed dog, the combination ofmeans spaced apart from the sewing point and providing a continuous pullon the material tending to pull it past the sewing point, means toreciprocate said needle in synchronism with the speed of the pullingmeans, a presser foot adiacent the needle and having a main bodyportion, means to reciprocate the main body portion toward and away fromthe material being sewn in cyclical relation to the movement of theneedle, means on the presser foot and engaging the materialat all timeswith a varying pressure depending upon the position of the main bodyportion of the presser foot with respect to the material, and yieldingmeans between the sewing point and the pulling means and engaging thematerial to divert the material from the direct line from the sewingpoint to the pullinggmeans.

PERCY GARDNER. RALPH KAGAN.

